I'd Have Been Fine Without You
by catatbed
Summary: In which Hook saves Emma from drowning and much innuendo ensues. But will something more blossom between them besides, or will Hook's revenge on Rumpelstiltskin ruin everything?
1. Lost at Sea

**Voila my first chapter to my new fic "I'd Have Been Fine Without You'. I feel myself slowly being consumed by everything Hook. He's just so...friggin' perfect. Anyways, the idea for this first chapter popped into my head when I was swimming alone in my swimming pool (totally normal...) and I just had to publish it. Hopefully you guys find it as fluffy and corny (in an endearing way) as I do. Also, review, review, review so I know whether or not to continue. **

Emma bit her lip as she forced herself to swallow the string of angry curses that threatened to escape from her mouth at any moment. As the wind whipped at her face and sent a shiver down her spine, she dimly remembered herself on her couch earlier that evening, curled up with a blanket covering her legs and a glass of wine in her right hand. Saturday Night Live was playing on the TV and Reese Witherspoon, one of the few actresses she knew, was hosting. All signs pointed towards it being a great night, but alas, something went wrong. Something always did.

An anonymous tip had been left on her cell about some ship that had been harboring at the docks of Storybrooke, unauthorized no less, and Emma was required by law to check out the situation. And so she found herself trudging her way through the cold, windy night in the rain towards the docks, hands shoved into pockets and head tilted downwards so the wind might not claw at her face. All she had wanted was one night to herself, away from Mary Margaret and David and Henry (regardless of how much she loved them, she needed some her-time) but evidently that was too much to ask. There was never any rest. Never.

As the bitter sheriff made her way towards the docks of Storybrooke, she found herself violently kicking every stone or piece of trash that was in her path and muttering angrily to herself about the 'damn whiners' who were her fellow Storybrookians. She had found that on her desk as soon as she got back layed a pile of paperwork about as tall as her awaiting patiently. It was hard to imagine that in just two weeks enough people could pose enough complaints in such a small town that the pile was so high, especially considering the fact that David had supposedly taken over her job in her absence. Apparently, though, he was more of a 'hands-on guy' and he thought that he should leave the 'mental tasks' to his 'bright and determined daughter'. Really what he meant so say, though, was that he was too lazy to do it himself. Yep, the people of Storybrooke were really getting on Emma's last nerves.

A violent gust of wind nearly toppled Emma over and she was torn from her angry thoughts and fell ungracefully to the ground. Luckily, she had brought her hands out of her pockets fast enough so that she caught herself just before her face collided with the wet pavement. Well, 'lucky' was a relative term. _Now my hands are soaking wet, _Emma thought exasperatedly to herself as she picked herself up and shoved her hands into her pockets again. _Could this night get any worse?_

She certainly should have been smart enough to know that you were never, ever supposed to think that cursed sentence.

In the distance, or about as far as she could see anything with the god awful rain, Emma made out the vague outlines of boats and smelled the unmistakably salty smell of the sea. As she neared, the scene came into sharper view and Emma was able to discern a sailboat, two jetboats and a kayak. Nothing that seemed too suspicious. It was not until she stood at the very edge of the boardwalk that she even perceived the thing that had caused so much trouble. It was sailing in the middle of the ocean and so distant that it was but a shadow of a shadow of an outline, but as it pulled closer and Emma squinted through the night and rain to see, it became apparent to her what it was. Her eyes widened with worry and she felt at her holster for her gun...just in case she needed extra protection. It was then that she realized she had left it at her apartment in her haste to leave and get this little expedition over with.

_I sure as hell can't face him weaponless, can I?_ Emma thought, trying to convince herself that retreating home would not be cowardly but instead sensible. _I have to go back and get it. Then I'll return, no questions asked. _She nodded pointedly, as if to assure herself that what she was saying was completely true. Then, she turned sharply on her heel and made for her home. At least, she would have, had it not been for the fact that the docks were sopping wet with rain water, she was standing at the edge of the boardwalk and she had decided to wear her boot heels because they were the warmest shoes she owned. With all those factors working against her, however, instead of walking safely back to her home to try and work out a plan of attack, she fell into the depths of the raging and wild ocean, savage waves cascading almost immediately and violently over her helpless figure.

* * *

Killian sighed contentedly as he felt the cool wind lashing at his face and the calming rocking of his ship beneath his feet. For the first time in a long time, he was at home and it felt _good_. He had only to close his eyes and he could see clearly the great expanse of the crystal blue ocean before him, his crew scuttling about their chores on deck and his precious Milah by his side. Still today he could see her face distinctly, every line and wrinkle. He could picture the beautiful hazel of her eyes and smell her scent of lavender and berries as she wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled her face into his neck. The memory was sweet, just like every memory of Milah. Save one _very_ important memory. The memory that led him here, to this cursed town called Storybrooke with its ignorant inhabitants and repulsive crocodile.

He'd been living here for over a month now, wandering the streets by day, gathering information on Rumpelstiltskin, and retreating to his ship by night. As of yet, no one had taken noticed of the stranger that lurked suspiciously around town, they were all too consumed in their mindless lives void of direction or meaning. But Killian was certainly not lacking for either of those things. If anything, that was _all_ his life was: centered around one goal, Rumpelstiltskin's death. What he might do after that glorious task had been complete, he did not know. He supposed he would regress to his old life of thievery and women. He had always done those two things _very _well. _And who shall be the first wench I bed? _Killian thought bemusedly to himself, sorting through all the women he had seen in Storybrooke. He briefly considered the girl they called Ruby, with her long legs and plentiful...gifts...but his thoughts settled on, as they always seemed to do, the blonde sheriff Emma.

It was a relationship that was doomed to die, if it ever even kindled. She was determined to keep him at arms length, never daring to trust him or let him in (in more ways than one). She had made very careful to never get too close to him in Fairytale land and had done everything in her power to keep him there. He himself had only wanted her then to meet his own ends, but now that his revenge was inevitable, he imagined what it might be like if they could be together because they both _wanted_ to be. The woman was undeniably beautiful, if not to the extent of that Ruby girl, but what truly attracted Hook to her was her fiery determination that he had not seen since Milah. She invoked feelings in him he would rather keep subdued, feelings that went beyond his carnal needs. He wanted her not only in the physical sense, but also spiritually. He wanted to feel loved again, even for just a little bit, like he had been with Milah. He wanted to feel cared for.

But that was ridiculous. The girl was, in fact, the thing that stood in the _way_ of his revenge. She was the 'sheriff', the one who was forced to protect every citizen in this wretched town, including that vermin she dared to call a human being. Harboring feelings for her, even just tentative, cloudy feelings was completely unacceptable. Hook had to keep a clear mind and focus on his task. He had managed to do this for over 300 years, surely he must be able to continue for another few weeks? But how was he to get Emma out of the way without hurting her?

As if to answer his question, he heard in the distance a shrill cry and a resounding splash that contrasted sharply with the soft patter-patter-patter of the rain against the deck. He ran quickly over the side of his ship just in time to see a little, blond figure tumble carelessly into the water. The woman was pushed further out to sea as the wind whipped the savage waves in every which direction. He saw her head pop up for a split second, coughing loudly. Her hands were trying to grab at something, anything around her and a shocking fact became apparent to Hook. _She couldn't swim._ Smiling wickedly to himself, Hook pulled off his shirt and jacket and climbed on top of the ship's railing. Where most would see an innocent damsel in distress in need of a prince charming, Hook saw an opportunity. And so he dove.

* * *

Either the waves were getting stronger and stronger or Emma was getting weaker and weaker. She felt the strength drain from her body like water from a bath and her resolve weakened. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen to her brain or the sudden realization that she was going to die, but Emma suddenly stopped struggling. Another violent wave crashed against her limp body and pushed her back under the surface of the water, causing her to let out a cry of pain that was lost in the depths of the ocean. She looked longingly back up at the surface, where oxygen and Henry lie, but made no move to try and reach it; she was too exhausted. Her entire body began to shake with cold as Emma's vision began to blur. The image of the night sky above her, covered with grey clouds, dimmed. Her last conscious thought was one of Henry and her parents before she succumbed to the pain and fatigue and closed her eyes.


	2. Hook the Savior

The storm was not the worst that Hook had ever had to sail in, but certainly the worst he had to _swim_ in. The darkness added an extra challenge as he searched the waters for his blonde savior, freezing cold in only his breeches and boots. Being a pirate captain of the high seas, he was an excellent swimmer, but even this was far beyond anything he had ever tried to conquer before. The salt water was beginning to burn his eyes as he swam back up to the surface, wading there for a while and trying to catch a glimpse of Emma. Alas, there was nothing to be seen.

_I could have sworn I saw her over there a moment ago_...Killian thought to himself as he dove back into the water, this time heading straight for the bottom. The darkness down there was complete and utter, and Hook was reduced to feeling at the sand and rocks with his hands and feet in order to find her. For what seemed to be eternity, Hook came up empty, until he felt in his hands a smooth and soft, if icy, substance. The thing was about his size, woman-shaped, and Killian smiled inwardly to himself. He had her. Picking her body up bridal style, he swam as quickly as he could to the surface, eager to have his warm jacket on his shoulders once again.

* * *

Emma awoke suddenly, spluttering sea water, on the deck of what looked to be a large vessel. Her vision became sharper and sharper as the water in her lungs was so slowly replaced with sweet, sweet air. Emma's thoughts slowly began coming back to her, her mind clearing as reality came crashing down. She had fallen into the ocean and the waves had forced her down under. And then...she was here. She gave her surroundings a tentative once-over, trying to discern what this place might be, when she saw the docks of Storybrooke in the distance and the town itself twinkling feebly with what few lights had pierced the almost pitch black darkness.

A violent wave crashed suddenly into the great vessel and sent Emma flying across the deck, a small scream emitting from her lips.

And it was then that she heard it. A dark, deep, impossibly condescending chuckle from an overly-confident, ruggedly handsome pirate behind her. Emma sat herself up on her knees, too weak to do anything more, and turned. Above her stood Captain Killian Jones, a.k.a. Captain Hook. He wore his boots, leather pants, black jacket (with no shirt underneath) and an unsurprisingly satisfied smile. He quirked a suggestive eyebrow at Emma, nodding down to her, and she become uncomfortably aware of the position she was in: sitting submissively on her knees at Hook's feet, her head even with his...

Emma could _not_ scramble up fast enough, her movements so brash and hastened that she nearly toppled over once again. Hook, being the gentleman he was, caught her arms with his to steady her. However, as soon as Emma had found her equilibrium again and was sure to not fall, she jerked away from his touch with a 'harrumph' as she felt her cheeks heating with both anger and embarassment. Anger at herself for being embarrassed, angry at Hook for _making_ her embarrassed and embarrassed because only moments ago it had looked like she was about to give Hook-

"Enjoy your swim, did you, Emma?" he asked sarcastically. The woman ignored his comment and cut straight to the chase, "H-how did you g-get here, Hook?" Said pirate noticed with a hint of unwarranted sympathy that the woman who had knocked him out and left him to rot in Fairy tale land was shivering something awful and that those few, brief words had been a great challenge for her. Cursing himself all the while, Hook pulled out the shirt he had taken off just before jumping in to save her and thrust it into her hands.

"Put the shirt on unless you want to freeze to death, woman. And take the sopping wet shirt _off; _it'll just make you colder."

Emma shot an unsure glance towards the pirate before deciding that he was right and sighing. She pulled her jacket off of her shoulders, revealing a simple white T-shirt, before gesturing to Hook to turn around. He replied simply, "You're wearing an all white shirt that's soaked through and through, darling. I've seen it all already." He didn't hesitate to add an infuriating wink to that already infuriating comment. Emma looked down at her chest and torso to see that he was telling the truth; her lacy red bra was clearly showing through her clothing. 'Humphing' angrily, she tore her white shirt off, maintaining contact with Hook all the while, as if daring him to look down, and pulled his shirt over her head. She hated to admit it, but it was _much _warmer.

"Now that _that's _settled," Emma began angrily, as if the shirt situation had been _his _fault, "How. Did. You. Get. Here?" The words were much more confident and biting than when she had initially asked (probably because they were void of chatters or shudders).

"Turns out that giant's bean wasn't as useless as I thought."

"If that was really true, then you would use it to get your ass back to Fairytale land ASAP."

"I don't know what ASAP is, darling, but I quite like it here. Artificial light, showers, _you_..."

"If you know what's good for you, Hook, then..."

"Then what, darling? I know that my being here is quite what you imagined as your 'happily-ever-after in Storybrooke' but I think you and I can have something special, Emma. I mean, you obviously see it too. You were practically throwing yourself at my feet earlier." His words were insincere and mocking, his face plagued with his trademark smirk as he spoke.

Emma sighed angrily and spat, "You're an ass."

"Come now. I think someone who just risked their life to save you from that storm merits _something_ other than insincere insults." Hook countered.

"What do you want, Hook?"

"Let me kill Rumplestiltskin."

"Never."

"What has he ever done for you, Emma? Why are you protecting that _crocodile_?"

"Because it's my job, Killian. It's what I do. I help people. I _protect_ people."

"Then protect the people he's hurt. Protect the people he _will_ hurt."

"I'm sorry for what he did to you. I really am. But I can't let you kill anyone...even him."

"Look, Emma. I just saved your life. Now I'll take his. It's an eye for an eye; a life for a life. That's only fair."

"You didn't save my life, Hook. I'd have been fine without you." Emma spat, angry that he might even suggest that she had needed him (even though she did).

A devilish grin spread across Killian's features then, and he scooped Emma in his arms bridal style, eliciting a squeal of shock from her. "If you insist, love." he whispered seductively in her ear, carrying her to the side of his ship. Emma gave him a confused glance before she realized what he intended to do. Just as prepared to drop the blonde back into the water she threw her arms around his neck, closed her eyes and buried her head into his chest. An undignified plea of "Please, Hook!" escaped her lips and Killian smiled. Hearing her so scared and vulnerable after what she had done to him was a sweet, sweet sound.

"I knew you would be begging for me sooner or later, princess." He whispered charmingly into her ear, setting her back on the deck. In that moment, Emma swan decided that she absolutely despised the infamous Captain Hook.


	3. Receiving the Call

**Hey, guys! I was astounded by the positive feedback I received for the previous two chapters; I'm so glad all you guys reviewed! This chapter is a little bit more serious and a lot less fluffy than the previous one, but I'll get them back to their wonderful banter soon enough. Don't you worry ;) For now, just enjoy and review!**

It had been quite a while since Emma Swan's last (and painfully embarrassing encounter) with Hook, and she had begun to think that he had after all lost heart and given up. There were no angry reports of 'vandalism', 'thievery' or 'breaking and entering', no tips about a suspicious man dressed all in black walking the streets by night.

In fact, she hadn't even received a single call at the police station.

Even Gold seemed oblivious to Hook's presence in Storybrooke, and Emma could only conclude that he had finally thrown in the towel and accepted defeat. She convinced herself that that conclusion was not influenced by her _hopes_ that he had, but instead just a logical verdict based on the happenings (or lack thereof) in her town...Of course, the reality was the complete opposite.

Hook had been carefully planning his attack, collecting as much information as he could on the notorious Rumplestiltskin and mapping out the murder step-by-step. It gave him a twisted sense of excitement, planning it. He pictured in his mind every sweetly disturbing moment, right down to Gold's tortured expression and the very last words to fall from his mouth. Many scenarios had played out in his mind, ones where he killed Gold with the very hook that replaced the hand Gold had stolen from him. Ones where he first killed Rumple's darling Belle in front of him and locked him in a cellar, letting him die of thirst and hunger and _knowing_ that he had let Belle slip away from him. Still more popped into his head and Hook's insides churned with delicious anticipation as a nasty grin appeared on his face. It made him look unhinged and frantic, a man truly broken by the world in which he lived.

Unfortunately, however, with every dramatic and overly-violent scheme Hook could imagine, there was always some disturbance, one small hiccup that refused to get out of the way. It was a force that he would either have to destroy or overcome if he were to get his vengeance for Milah.

And it was because of this _hiccup_ that Hook stood on Emma's doorstep four weeks later with an entirely pleasant smile on his face and a skip to his step. The second the blonde had swung open the door, he had walked readily in, eager to discover the stubborn woman's abode.

"Not much of a castle, is it?" he asked obviously. He walked superiorily around, hands clasped tightly behind his back, and wore a disapproving frown. As if he were _trying_ to provoke her, he swept his index finger along the counter and scrutinized the bit of dust that he had picked up, brushing it off on his clothes distastefully.

"That would make sense, since we're living in the 21st century and I'm not royalty." Emma replied drily. She was _not_ in the mood to play Hook's little games.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you _not _the daughter of _Queen_ Snow and _King_ Charming?" he asked redundantly, facing her and mirroring her rigid, angry stance. The woman decided to ignore his sarcastic comment and questioned in a chastising voice, "Did I _say_ you could come in?"

"Well...as the man who saved your life, I assumed there was a level of familiarity between us."

"You didn't save my life."

Hook disregarded her words as he continued inspecting her home an air of aggravating authority, as if _he_ owned the place!

"Tell me...how is it a _princess_ doesn't even know how to _swim_?" he asked conversationally, picking up an apple that had been on the counter, sniffing it, and taking a bite.

"I'm telling you I _can_ swim, you just didn't give me the opportunity to-"

Hook rolled his eyes as he tossed the perfectly good apple into the wastebasket, turning back to face her.

"Of course, Emma. I'm sure you would have been _just _fine had I not been there to save you."

The woman was prepared to strangle the impossible man in front of her, but settled for the more sensible (and less illegal) tactic...

"Why are you here, Hook?"

"Can't a man just drop by to see his friend?"

"We're not friends."

"I think we should get that way then. And soon."

Emma rolled her eyes and walked pointedly up to Hook, who had now decided to raid her refrigerator. Slamming the door closed, Emma met Hook's surprised gaze with an annoyed one.

"Why. Are. You. Here?"

"Let. Me. Kill. Rumple."

Emma raised her eyebrows questioningly at the man, surprised that he would be so straightforward. Then again, she was sure that pirates weren't well acquainted with subtlety.

"We've been over this." Emma said quietly. Hook swore that her tone sounded slightly apologetic and the way she had looked to the ground as she said it was almost reflective of...shame. He was getting to her. A little more and she would break. "And we can go over this again, Emma." The woman just shook her head and turned away from him, hiding her face from his view. That was definitely shame he saw. And it made him feel a twinge, (just a twinge!) of sympathy for the girl. He reached for her arm and forced her to face him, speaking now in a softer and more compassionate voice.

"Look, Emma. I've been at this for three hundred years. Anger like mine, just left to simmer and boil, doesn't simply go away. I _will_ kill Rumpelstiltskin There's no other way. But..." he sighed and looked down to his feet. "...I don't want to hurt you. I don't want anyone else to get hurt in the crossfire. If you stand in my way, though, if you deny me my vengeance, then I will _have_ to. Don't make me hurt you...please?"

Emma looked into the pirate's blue eyes as she listened to his words, said so softly and kindly it almost made her want to believe him. She could not detect any lie as he spoke, could see no trace of deception or nervousness in his beautiful features. It made her even angrier at him. He had been easier to hate before. Hook the monster. Hook the pirate. Hook the murderer. But now? He was Hook the compassionate. Hook the lover. Hook the gentle. His words almost made her _want_ to let him have his way. She almost wanted to let him have Rumple. Almost.

"Do you know what kind of an uproar that would cause? You _killing_ Rumple? This town has had enough of murder and loss and grieving! I don't need you contributing to that." She said frustratedly, pleading with him to see reason. "You're just going to scare people. They'll live in even greater fear than they do now. And they don't deserve that. None of them deserve that."

Emma was trying to appeal to his human side, trying to make Killian Jones, not Captain Hook, understand what she meant. And for a brief moment, as she stared helplessly into his eyes, she swore she saw a flicker of _something_. It could have been uncertainty, it could have been pain or even guilt, but it was more than his a-typical stubborn confidence.

As soon as that dim flicker had shone, it faded. Instead, it was drowned in disbelief and outrage. He was indignant that this silly, blind woman was trying to coax him out of getting something that the world _owed_ him. And he was even _more_ indignant that it had been working.

"And _I _deserve it?! _I_ deserve to live in this God forsaken world with these insolent people for the rest of my life alongside him? Am I supposed to just pretend nothing had ever happened? He never killed Milah, he never took my hand? Is that it?! You would have me forget the past so that _you _can-"

Emma cut Hook off abruptly with an angry retort. Her voice was thick with emotion that she had not wanted to show and her eyes barely suppressed tears of sympathy for him.

"Of course not! Of _course _I don't expect you to _forget_! But I expect you to _forgive_. It's what any decent human being would do."

Hook bristled at her words and took a step forward so that his chest was flush with hers. A pitiful _squeak_ escaped from her throat as Emma looked up at him, terrified as to what he might do. Instead of hitting her or shoving her as she had expected, however, he just spoke. His words were slow and dangerously low and Emma knew that he was angrier now than he could ever be when he was yelling.

"He's the inhuman one, darling. _Not. Me._"

And with that, Hook turned abruptly away from her and strode out her door, slamming it loudly behind himself and causing Emma to wince.

* * *

A few days later, Emma received a call at the police station.


	4. I Found You

Emma knew in her gut what the call was about, but she still she held on to some shrivel of hope as she reached for the phone and held it to her ear. On the other line, a hysterical Belle was pleading with Emma to get down to the pawn shop as a 'strange man' had come and attacked Rumple. Emma gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes and slammed the phone down. She should have _forced_ him to stay away, should have locked him up as soon as he got to Storybrooke. But instead, she'd decided to let events unfold and now she had a possible murder on her hands.

Grabbing her staple leather jacket, she all but sprinted towards her police car and drove as fast as she could to the scene of the crime, sirens blaring the entire ride. She parked a street away and ran towards the sound of grunting and shouting. As expected, right on the doorstep of Gold's shop was a group of people, clustered tightly together and blocking Emma's view of whatever was going down. She had to forcefully shove her way to the front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of the action. And what a glimpse it was!

Hook stood in front of Rumple, his teeth bared like an animal, as he held his sword's point to the other man's neck. Rumple's face mirrored his opponent's, angry and hostile, and Emma could practically taste the pent up rage in the air. The two men were glaring daggers at each other and both their chests were heaving with labored breaths; evidently they had been at it for a while already but neither seemed ready to quit. In fact, they both wore on their faces expressions of bitter and stubborn determination. Neither was going to yield, neither was going to surrender unless they were forced to.

In the tense silence of the moment, Emma heard Hook speak low, angry words to Gold through clenched teeth.

"What magic are you going to hide behind today?"

In return, Rumple replied with a savage, "No magic." before taking his cane, slapping the sword from Hook's hand and hitting the dazed man over the head. Hook fell to the ground, still conscious, and struggled to recover his lost weapon. Rumple, however, would not allow it, and began hitting and kicking at the pirate with all the force he had in his body, shouting at the same time insults he had prepared 50 years prior. Emma swore that she saw a single tear slip from his eye and heard a slight falter in his voice as he continued his assault, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the man. She had heard his, albeit biased, side of the story, and knew the blame did not entirely fall upon his shoulders. That did _not, _however, justify his intensely violent actions against Hook, who, despite the severe beating he was receiving, still seemed to be fighting tooth-and-nail to regain his sword.

He had finally got it in his hand and had swung a hit at Rumple, who's cheek was slashed in the attack, when Emma finally managed to intervene. She shoved Gold (rather forcefully) from Hook's body, which was already developing purple whelts from the kicks, and turned towards the pirate himself, extending a hand to help him up. He, however, pride too prickly after what had just occured, simply drew himself up (trying desperately not to show that he was in pain) and brushed himself off. He stuck his chin out pointedly in an attempt to appear dignified, but he saw the crooked grin and arrogant glint in Rumple's eyes and knew that he had been beaten fair and square.

A glimpse of his precious Milah dying flashed before Hook's eyes.

Unfortunately for Rumple, pirates _don't_ fight fair and square.

In a sudden fit of rage, Hook pushed Emma angrily to the side and she fell in a heap at the doorstep to Rumpelstiltskin's shop, hitting her head on his doorknob, which temporarily dazed her. The scene that unfolded before her then was hazy, and her thoughts were unclear. She saw the Hook figure lunge at the smaller Rumple figure and the two shadows fall to the ground. They wrestled there for a moment, both figures too intertwined for Emma to decipher which body part belonged to which person, before what she decided was the Hook figure drew himself up. He had somehow managed to get Rumpelstiltskin on his stomach with his hands held together behind his back. Emma saw Hook pull the heap that was the sorcerer up from his position on the ground and whisper something privately into his ear.

The next moments happened in slow motion.

Gold turned abruptly on Hook and spat in his most contemptible tone, "You took my wife!" before thrusting his hands in front of him dramatically. He never actually made contact with Hook, but still the pirate was sent flying through the air with the burst of magic Rumple had unleashed. There was a distant shout that Emma could not quite decipher and a cruel, cruel laugh that she knew belonged to Gold. Knowing what had just happened could spell dire consequences for Hook, the young sheriff forced herself up from her crumpled position and put a hand to her throbbing head (tonight was going to be liquor-intensive) before setting off in a sprint to find the man that had flown through the air like a plane.

She ignored Rumpelstiltskin's angry calls behind her; she could leave _his_ arrest for a later date. Ringing in her mind over and over were Hook's oddly sincere words from days before, "Don't make me hurt you...please?" Emma couldn't (or rather, wouldn't) understand why those words had affected her in the way they had, or why she was so worried about Hook's safety in that moment, but she still continued to search desperately for the man. Frantic calls of "Hook!" and "Jones!" could be heard from across town, but there was no answer; he was unconscious. Or dead.

Emma continued shouting and running until her voice had grown hoarse and her body could no longer take it. She paused for a much needed break at the outskirts of the Forbidden forest; the final frontier. If he was not here, then he was nowhere. Heaving for air (Emma was _not_ an athlete), she closed her eyes and willed herself to continue looking. Daylight was fading quickly and it would be no use looking for him in a dark, cold forest with God knows what sort of creatures. If it was going to be done, it had to be done now.

Emma bit her lip and rolled her eyes at her stupidity because she just _knew_ nothing good could come out of this, before setting off at a light jog into the forest.

* * *

Hook awoke with an intense throbbing in his head and a dull, aching pain in his back. His surroundings were hazy in front of him and he simply lay flat on his back for a while, searching for answers.

There had been a fight. That, he remembered. He had been winning. He had Gold with hands behind his back and on the ground. He had pulled him up and whispered in his ear, "Do you see where no magic gets you, Rumple?" And then, he drew a blank. Something had happened that had caused him to wake up after God knows how long in what appeared to be a forest with the sun setting far too quickly. He hurt everywhere, especially in his head, and he was lying on what what he was fairly certain was a pile of mud and leaves. Something had _definitely_ happened. With a hazy mind and protesting body, Hook forced himself to stand and analyze his surroundings; he had to get out of the forest before daylight faded completely. When he looked around, however, there was nothing to be seen but a seemingly endless expanse of trees, shrubs and dirt. No matter which direction he looked, there was no break in the wilderness, no thinning of the trees that might suggest a way out. His only option was to carry on in one direction and hope that he would eventually find himself back in Storybrooke.

As Killian decided upon which direction he would follow, he heard in the distance a hoarse voice calling his name. He paused momentarily, holding in his breath, and listened. Again came the same sound, a woman shouting, "Hook? Hook?" somewhere in the forest. He smiled to himself and shouted back, "Emma? Is that you?"

To this, the young woman replied,  
"Hook?! Where are you?"

The man, being surrounded entirely by indistinguishable trees in a forest he didn't know, said sarcastically:

"In a tavern, sweetheart, drinking some rum. Where in the bloody hell do you think I am?!"

Emma, exasperated, called,  
"I just meant where-"

Then, Hook saw a figure dressed in blue pants and a red leather jacket appear in front of him, back towards him and he interrupted. "Emma! Turn around."

The blonde did so and a small crept onto her face.

"I found you."

"I knew you would."


	5. Bruises and Aches

Hook managed a tentative smile that mirrored Emma's small one before grimacing in pain and clutching at his side. He was still on his feet and able to walk, but he was fairly certain that Rumpelstiltskin had managed to crack a few ribs with his magical javelin throwing. Only Hook was the javelin.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked, slightly worried. Hook looked at her then back down at his stomach. He lifted his shirt up to reveal a deep purple bruise that spread along his right side. Emma flinched in pain just looking at it; he was going to need to see a doctor.

"That doesn't look good." she said obviously. Hook smiled and replied, "No, it doesn't."

Emma rolled her eyes and walked over to Hook, wanting to examine the damage on her own. She looked at Hook, who nodded as if to say 'go ahead' before she took his shirt in her hand. She felt along his side, pressing along each of his ribs, until she came to the second to last one, where the bruise was darkest. When she pressed there, he gasped in pain and jerked away from her touch. She gave him a look of sympathy, as if he were a puppy, and said,"You'll need to get that rib checked out."

Hook, oblivious to the ways of the world of medical technology, replied with a look of pure confusion,"You just did."

Emma laughed slightly. His befuddlement with the modern world was really quite...cute. But she would never dare say that out loud."By a doctor, I mean."

Then, as though Hook _didn't_ have a broken rib and it _wasn't_ excruciatingly painful for him to talk, or even breathe, said in an disgustingly suggestive voice, "You can play doctor, right?"

Emma had half a mind to jab him in the rib right then, but decided against it. She was better than that. She was above that. She was-

"Do you want to examine my bone, doc?"

Emma hit him right where she had felt his broken rib and the man shouted and keeled over, falling to his knees. Emma smiled, satisfied, and said, "Are you gonna play nice now?"

Hook looked up at her from his position on the forest floor and responded in a dark and angry tone, "Are _you_?" The blonde sheriff couldn't help but crack a smile. Him trying to intimidate her while on his knees at her feet? Fat chance.

"Do you want help up or are you just going to give me angry eyes for while I walk away?" Emma replied dryly, crossing her arms and looking expectantly down on him. He was grumbling something incomprehensible, but he extended his hand anyway, in a sign of defeat. Emma smiled triumphantly to herself and took his hand in hers, trying to pull him up. He, however, had other plans. With a grunt of part effort and part pain, Hook pulled Emma down with his single arm. She squealed in surprise as she fell, and tumbled to her knees, not being to help how she fell in Hook's readily open arms.

Emma bit her cheek and shoved away from him so that they were eye to eye, sitting on their knees and glaring at each other in silence. That is, the blonde was glaring and the brunette was smiling charmingly at her, as if he were trying to provoke her. Not again.

"That's twice now you've fallen into my arms, darling. Any excuse this time?"

Emma's eyes narrowed and she ground her teeth. How was it that he managed to get under her skin so easily?

"You. Pulled. Me."

"I did _no _such thing. Look at me! I'm a mess. Broken rib, all bruised and cut up. I can hardly lift a finger, much less pull a standing woman down with a single arm." Hook said innocently. He _was_ trying to provoke her.

"Do you _want_ me to hit you again?" Emma spat angrily. Her empathy for his pain was running thin and being replaced by annoyance.

"You'd attack a defenseless, hurt man? I thought you were supposed to _protect_ people, Emma Swan..." Hook said, feigning shock. Emma gave him a fake, overly sweet smile and decided she had enough. She was going home. Placing her hands on either of his shoulders, she used him to push herself up, smiling at his pained growl, and began to walk in the direction she was (pretty) sure she had come.

Soon enough, just like a lost, vulnerable puppy, Hook was on her heels.

"Do you know your way back, love?"

"Don't test me, Hook."

"I was only asking a question, darling."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Your questions have a way of annoying me, pirate."

"Oh, a demotion. I've gone from Hook to 'pirate' now, have I?

"Shut up."

Emma quickened her pace, feeling her patience slip away like sand through fingers. Maybe if she walked fast enough he would get left behind...

"Are we playing the silent game now?"

There was no verbal response from Emma, just a tight purse of the lips and an angry narrowing of the eyes. Hook didn't seem to get the message.

"I've always been rubbish at this game. I find that it's very fun when _others_ play it, though. In fact, now that you're not talking, I have a few thoughts I want to share with you without your constant interruptions."

Hook paused for a moment after he said this, tilting his head slightly towards Emma and raising his eyebrows, waiting to see what she would do. When she refused to look at him or indeed make any move to shut him up, he continued.

"What happened in your life that has made you so mistrust _everybody_ you come across, hmmm? Who betrayed you? Who hurt you, darling? Or is this something else? Is it-" Hook's expression morphed into something similar to epiphanic, with a hint of mocking laced in as well. "I know what it is! You're playing _hard to get_! You just don't want-"

Emma turned heatedly on her heels and stuck an accusing finger at Hook's face. "You can't shut up for two minutes, can you? You always have to be sarcastic and insulting and superior and...infuriating! Just help me find our way out, okay? And. Be. Quiet!"

"I find that talking will help to keep your mind off the cold and fatigue."

Emma crossed her arms and said in a voice that was overflowing with acid,

"Fine, then, _Hook__. _Let's talk about _Milah_."

There was a shot of some emotion in his eyes- pain, anger, betrayal, sadness- that made Emma feel slightly guilty for the comment, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come...along with Emma's guilt.

The two walked in a rigid silence after that, at least an arm's length away from each other. One would occasionally glance at the other, trying to analyze their expression, read their thoughts and understand what they might be thinking, but the other was always wearing a blank, empty expression, void of emotion or thought. In truth, both Emma and Hook were fighting very hard to keep their expressions even so that they wouldn't reveal their true contemplations to one another...and both were successful.

It wasn't until the sun was practically set and fatigue was wearing on them both that the silence was finally broken. Emma lent against a tree, sighing, and Hook was soon to follow. They both stood there for a while, regaining their strength, when Emma rubbed irritably at her head. It had been throbbing ever since the fight and the pain had increased so that the dull ache had become a sharp and constant torment. Hook gave her a sidelong glance and tried to conceal his look of sympathy, instead asking in an excessively indifferent tone, "What's with your head?"

Emma gave him an annoyed look and replied, "_Someone_ decided to push me down and made me hit my head while he was fighting a sorcerer."

Hook scoffed and tried to suppressed the guilt was bubbling up in his chest. "Sounds like a very specific someone."

Emma just gave him a tired look and looked at her watch. "The sun's almost completely gone. We need to get a move on."

"Don't you have one of those devices that allow you to communicate with people?"

"You mean a phone? Yeah, I got one...on my desk at the station. Now seriously, we have to get moving!"

Emma pushed herself off the tree and started in a random direction (any direction was better than no direction at all) but didn't hear Hook's soft footsteps behind her. She still continued walking, however.

After a few moments, Emma heard Hook's voice far behind her.

"I'm sorry."

She turned abruptly around, wearing a confused expression, and asked, "For what?"

Hook simply replied, "Your head." before walking quickly past her.


	6. Fear of the Dark

Near complete darkness had set upon the town of Storybrooke and Emma and Hook were still wandering aimlessly around in the forest, growing more and more tired by the minute. The trees had taken on a dark and ominous quality, their tops shrouded by the darkness. The trickling of a distant stream put Emma on edge instead of relaxing her, and even the light wind that whipped around her seemed evil and foreboding. She kept a painfully smooth face, but underneath, she was terrified. She had always been terrified of being outside in the dark. She had spent too many late nights at bus stops, sleeping on the hard benches in bad neighborhoods, to feel any kind of safety after the sun set. She knew that was when the bad people came out, the monsters pulled off their daytime masks and left their caves to feast on humans. It had been a long and embarrassing fear, her fear of the dark; she'd had it for as long as she could remember. Still, promising herself that it was irrational, as there was no one else near her except for Hook, Emma couldn't help but be scared. In fact, she was shaking...

Suddenly, Emma heard a sound akin to a growl in her ear and the weight of _something _fall on her shoulders and nearly pushed her down. She let out a terrified scream, turned on her heels and stumbled back, falling unceremoniously to the forest floor. There was nothing there to greet her, neither wild animal nor giant nor werewolf. Nothing but Hook, bent over, laughing hysterically at her expression. It took a moment for Emma to fully realize what had happened, and for her heart to stop beating at a thousand beats per minute, but when she did, she narrowed her eyes at Hook and stood up angrily. She began swatting at his back and his neck with undignified shouts of 'ass' or 'bastard'. No matter how hard she hit, though, it didn't seem to faze him and he went on with his obnoxious laughing, placing his hand on her side to keep himself from falling over. Emma grunted disgustedly and told him,

"You know I could have you locked up in jail just for that?" She tried to seem as intimidating as possible, but the illusion was somewhat diminished seeing as how she had squealed like a five year old girl not two minutes before. Through Hook's intolerable hyena-laugh, he managed a short and brief question. "Oh?" Emma nodded and replied, "Yeah. You attacked a police officer. I could have you for nine years...at least." It was only then that Hook finally managed to control (or stifle, really) his laughter and straighten out to face her. Of course, it was only so he could insert a suggestive comment into their conversation ('cause he wouldn't be captain Hook if he didn't). "You want to have me, darling? For _nine_ years? And I thought one day straight was an impressive feat..."

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes, refusing to look directly at his face. He picked up on it, bastard that he was, and he placed his hook underneath her chin, as his hand still rested comfortably on Emma's side, thought neither seemed to realize it, and pulled her face so that they were looking directly at each other. Emma's breath caught for a moment in her throat and she simply stood there, for an infinite moment, not saying anything, just looking. Her lips were slightly parted and her chest heaved with sudden, forceful breaths. Again, she felt her heart begin to pump faster, but this time she felt no fear. She glanced briefly at his lips before forcing her eyes to flicker back towards his. If he saw the movement, though, he didn't show it, only stood there with her, hand on side and hook under chin. When the silence was finally unbearable for either of them, Hook said tauntingly, "Are you afraid of the dark, love?"

Emma didn't answer, at first, or even react in anyway, only starring at his eyes, until the situation seemed to dawn on her and she took a surprised step back. Hook's hand fell to his side, along with his hook, and he arched a quizzical eyebrow at the woman across from him. "You seem a bit jumpy tonight. What gives? Are you afraid something's going to try to..." he jumped slightly towards her, then, causing her to wince, and he chuckled "...attack you?"

Emma tried to keep a straight face and pretend that what he was saying wasn't _exactly_ right. "The only thing I'm afraid of Hook, is you." she scoffed, before realizing what she said. That didn't make her seem fearless, that just made her seem...weird?

"Afraid of _me_? Why, darling, I wouldn't hurt you." Hook said, feigning surprise. Emma smiled and pointed towards the back of her head, which was still throbbing from its brutal collision with the doorknob. Hook acknowledged it and tacked on a "...purposefully" to his sentence. Emma sighed.

"I think we're officially lost." Hook announced a few minutes later, throwing his hands up in the air hopelessly. Emma agreed. "Maybe we should pull over and ask for directions..." she said sarcastically, receiving a confused look from Hook which she dismissed with a casual wave of the hand.

"Maybe we're close enough to town that if we just begin shouting, someone will hear us." she considered briefly. Hook immediately shook his head at the suggestion and said "Killian Jones does _not_ cry for..." but he was interrupted with Emma's deafening, shrill scream. "Heeeeelllllllloooooooooo?!"

Hook nearly pounced on her, jumping behind her and clapping his good hand onto her mouth, effectively smothering her hollers. "Weren't you the one who was cowering in her boots a few minutes ago because I _tapped_ you on the _shoulder_?! What are you thinking, shouting like that? Anyone...or _anything_... could find us now!" he whispered angrily in her ear, glancing worriedly about the forest. Emma, however, ignored his criticism and tore his hand away from her face (which, considering his impressive strength, was a two-handed job) and turned so that their chests were touching lightly and she was looking at his face. He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows, as though he were expecting an answer for her foolish outbursts a moments before. Emma, however, had other ideas.

"First of all, you did a _lot_ more than 'tap me on the shoulder'. You _jumped on me_...and I wasn't cowering! Second, you don't get to call the shots, I do. This is my town, my forest, and you don't know anything about it, so don't you try to order _me_ around. And lastly, _Don't. Touch. Me. Again._" she whispered angrily, jabbing an accusing finger at his chest. Hook only gave her a condescending smile and took the hand that was pressed to his chest, setting it at her side, as though she were an insolent child in need of teaching. Then, he bent down and whispered in her ear, "When something attacks you, darling, don't say I didn't tell you so." He withdrew then, straightening to his full height and quirked a single eyebrow, like he was trying to dare her to do something. Emma refused to sink to his level, refused to take the dare (whatever it might be) and turned slowly away from him.

Hook, being unable to resist the childish force that was controlling him, jabbed Emma's side with his finger and shouted 'Boo!'. This time, either because she had expected it or was genuinely too tired to be scared, Emma only flinched slightly and slapped his hand away. "I said don't touch me, remember?" Hook rolled his eyes and began following her, saying "Oh, I remember."

"Then stop touching me!" she told him frustratedly, wanting this night to be over with. Why, oh why, had she decided to go and find Hook? She could have just let him rot in the forest. She _should_ have just let him rot in the forest.

"I can't; I'm a handsy person. Always gotta be touching something." Hook said to her playfully, with a hint of innuendo laced in (as always). Emma sighed and ordered simply, "Then touch yourself" before realizing what she had said. She bent her head down, a light pink color blossoming in her cheeks, and Hook chuckled lightly. "I've done enough of that for a lifetime."

It was the last thing that was said between them for a long while that night; the awkwardness had reached an unbearable peak.

When finally both Emma and Hook decided that the they were completely and utterly lost and that stumbling around in the forest after dark was only going to get them more so, they concluded that they might as well stop and sleep. They located a relatively dry spot in a small den (if it could even be called that) and rounded up as many leaves as they could for their respective beds, spaced an appropriate distance apart. Each said their tense "good nights" to each other before attempting to fall asleep. Emma, however, being accustomed to heat, blankets and other modern amenities, began shivering within minutes. It was because of this, therefore (and no other reason, she assured herself) that she inched closer and closer to Hook, until finally she was laying apprehensively next to him, her face nestled into his chest. She had hoped that he had already fallen asleep when she did this, but to her utter mortification, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, wearing a smug smile all the while. Then, for the second time that night, he whispered, "Good night." before he and Emma truly dozed off.

* * *

The following morning, their salvation came in the form of Archie.


	7. Breakfast at Granny's

**Hello, my lovelies! I just wanted to add a quick reminder before this chapter that this story did not follow the last 5 episode's plots and thus Archie was never captured by Hook/Cora = he does not know who Hook is. Just in case you forgot...**

"Emma? Is that you?" Archie asked as he inched towards the couple in the cave whose limbs were so intertwined they looked like a ball of string. Said cop's eyes popped open at the voice to greet Hook's equally surprised ones. She flinched automatically, not used to having someone to wake besides, much less staring into their eyes immediately after she's awakened, and Hook chuckled lightly to himself. After a brief minute of awkward detangling of their respective body parts, which Hook took his sweet time doing, Emma stood up and greeted Archie with an embarrassed and curt, "Hi."

He gave her a skeptical look and glanced at Hook behind her, who saluted the therapist sarcastically, sitting up from his relaxed sleeping position on the cave floor. Archie responded to Emma's tense greeting with one of his own. "Good morning, Emma..." Then, his curiosity getting the better of him, Archie asked, "Who's this?"

Emma looked behind herself towards Hook who gave her a cheesy, mocking smile, then turned back to Archie. "This is...Captain Hook." she said slowly, not wanting the situation to be any more embarrassing than it already was. Judging by the amused and shocked look on Archie's face, however, things were going to take a turn for the worst.

"Captain Hook?" he said conversationally, smiling over Emma's shoulder towards the man who's name he'd just uttered. Hook still didn't say anything, only watched the exchange with interest and shot arrogant smiles towards whichever of the two Storybrookians were looking at him. "And why, might I ask, were you sleeping with him in the forest?" Archie asked Emma, who laughed nervously. She dug her heel into the ground and, to avoid Archie's inquiring and entertained gaze, looked down to the floor in mock interest of a beetle crawling around her boot. She was still looking down ashamedly when she responded, "We couldn't find our way home."

Archie nodded at her words, sensing her embarrassment and decided to pause his line of questioning for the moment. Both of them looked like they could use some breakfast and a shower...

"Why don't you tell me about it over pancakes at Granny's?" he asked pleasantly. Emma's head shot up, then, her eyes wide and truly interested for the first time during their exchange. Apparently, she she was _starving_ and her captain friend didn't seem ready to decline the offer, either. "To Granny's!" Emma announced proudly, walking excitedly past Archie in a random direction. The two men exchanged glances with each other, Hook still sitting comfortably on the ground, when they heard Emma, who had already managed to escape from their eyesight, calling out to them. "I just realized...I don't know how to get back to Storybrooke!"

They both smiled.

* * *

Emma was gulping down her third cup of coffee, in a rather unladylike fashion, while Hook and Archie sat watching her with slightly sickened expressions on their faces. When she finally slammed the empty mug on the table and made a move to call Ruby over to their table again, Archie reached his hand out and pulled her arm down, simply shaking his head. Emma at least had enough dignity to look sheepish. Hook couldn't help but smile inwardly at her chastised expression.

After both Emma and Hook finished two stacks of pancakes and breakfast was officially declared finished, as legitimized by the summoning of the check, Archie decided that he would resume his rather aggressive line of inquiry as to what in the hell he had seen in the forest. By the uneasy look on Emma's face, she knew that it had been coming.

"So...why exactly were you two in the forest in the first place?" Archie asked curiously, intent on keeping his tone of voice light, as though he didn't care. Emma sighed dramatically and replied, "Rumpelstiltskin threw Hook like a Frisbee across Storybrooke and I had to go get him." The pirate, who was sitting across from Emma and Archie, narrowed his eyes slightly at her comparing him to a child's toy but said nothing on it; he assumed that she had done it solely to illicit a reaction from him.

"We were trying to find a way out of the forest, but dark fell too soon and because mister directionally challenged over here thought he knew the way" there was another narrowing of the eyes sent towards Emma, but she pointedly ignored it, "...we wound up having to sleep in some random cave until day."

Archie listened patiently to the story, nodding his head all the while, until Emma was done. The subtle exchanges between the two, like the 'angry eyes' Hook shot Emma every two seconds and the snarky smirks she sent back, did not go unnoticed by the man who's job was to analyze human interactions.

"I get you guys having to sleep in the cave until daybreak, but what _I_ don't get," Archie started, thinking about whether or not the question would be too embarrassing for the couple but deciding he didn't care, "is why you guys wound up all on top of each other."

A faint pink color blossomed in Emma' cheeks and her mouth opened to say something, but she was able to say no words before her admittedly handsome male companion interjected. "There's a very _simple_ explanation for that." he started, staring at Emma all the while. Her expression was one of horror and anger, while Hook's was one of arrogance and 'that's-what-you-get'-ness. Whatever was about to come out of his mouth could _not_ be good.

"See, Emma and I had met before, when she was in my world," Hook started, with a serious look on his face. "We climbed a beanstalk together to get a compass that would lead us here to Storybrooke. And our beloved Emma here had to be saved by yours truly on numerous occasions during that journey. There was a growing attraction in her towards me, although her feelings were unreciprocated," Hook made a pouty face then and Emma buried her face in her hands, feeling the red head intensify in her cheeks. "So, when we met up in the forest, Emma's feelings towards me came out again, and when we settled down in the cave, well...let's just say Emma couldn't keep her hands to herself." Hook winked then to Archie whose eyebrows quirked up disbelievingly. "Being the gentleman I am, I submitted to her begging and fulfilled her needs. After, though, we had to put our clothes back on else there would have been nothing left but a puddle of water." He finished and Archie gave him a confused look, not understanding the 'puddle of water' part. Hook rolled his eyes dramatically and replied to Archie's nonverbal question with a curt, "Because we'd have been ice."

Archie nodded, as though it all made perfect, believable sense, and turned to Emma, who was too stunned and too embarrassed to say anything. Hook smiled at her expression, though was careful to conceal it from Archie's watchful eye; he wanted the ruse to go on for however long he could.

When finally Emma mustered up enough pride and dignity for words, she said through clenched teeth, face still held in cupped hands, "That. Did. Not. Happen." When both Archie and Hook audibly laughed at her (yes, laughed), she slammed her palms down on the table and glared at Hook until he fell silent. Even after, she glared and glared and glared and he began to shift uncomfortably under her intense gaze, all traces of amusement vanished. The moment she looked away, however, his arrogant smile was popped back on his face, like it was a spring that had been held down and released, and Emma rolled her eyes. There really was nothing she could do to make him stop.

"You can believe whoever you want to believe, Archie." Emma said exasperatedly turning towards her friend. By the expression on his face, Archie was leaning towards believing her instead of Hook's see-through story and Emma relaxed a little. If Archie didn't believe they had slept together, then no one else Hook blabbed to would. But she didn't intend to let Hook blab to _anyone_ else.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Archie, we both needed it badly. But I think now I've gotta give Hook a ride home." Emma said as she sat up, pulled her jacket on and motioned for Hook to do the same. Archie nodded, gave them both a good bye and payed the bill.

Emma left the diner with Hook hot on her trail and took a right while the pirate took a left. She called after him, asking him to come with her and he shot her a skeptical glance. "I'm going home to my ship." he told her matter of factly, pointing towards the docks. Emma shook her head 'no' and pulled him in her direction, insisting that he come to her apartment. Immediately, Hook accompanied the offer (or rather, the demand) with an intensely suggestive comment that Emma pointedly ignored.

It was only after they came upon a one-story brick building that read 'Storybrooke Sheriff's Station' that Hook understood that he had been bested. However, it was too late. Emma shoved him in the cell with all her might and slammed the door shut, locking it by key.

Next up for jail? Rumplestiltskin.

Emma delighted in imagining what terrible torture methods the two would cook up for each other while sharing a cell.


	8. Everything is Inside

**Hello, my wonderful readers! I would like to mention that I am very sorry for the long delay for this story; my other story kind of mind-blocked me and I had to get that out of the way before I could do this. However, I shortened the chapter length for my other story so hopefully this fic should be updated a little bit quicker. Anyways, please read, review and favorite. I appreciate ANY criticism! Seriously, it doesn't even have to be constructive, you can just bash the story. I just wanna know what's wrong with my fics so that I can improve them. Also, this chapter is a little bit darker-ish and there's not as much flirty Captain Swan. Don't worry, though, we'll get there...Enjoy!**

Emma was grinning from ear to ear as she watched the two men battle it out like lions in a cage, neither thinking to use weapons. It was a full-on fisted brawl as they tackled each other to the filthy floor and began to aim at any body part they could manage to hit. They hadn't even said one word to each other; they'd just dove the second Emma had locked the cell door behind Rumple. In all honesty, Emma should have probably broken them up, it was threatening to get deadly (or at least serious injury-ey) but she was having too much fun watching the debacle and wallowing in her own cleverness at getting Rumple to come here at all.

She'd told Regina that she could have three full weekends with Henry if she would concoct something to suppress Rumple's magic, so that she could successfully drag him to jail without any worry of a repeat of the previous day. Regina had gladly accepted, and just like that Emma was dragging the world's most powerful man (arguably) down the street like a child. Of course, the spell would only last for three hours at a time (his magic was a bit too potent to conquer completely) but they would be the most miraculous, wonderfully vengeant three hours of Emma's life. It was like watching her favorite movie in the world for the first time again. In fact, Emma wondered why she didn't have popcorn for this satisfying spectacle!

Three brief minutes later, Emma sat at her sheriff's desk with a bowl of freshly-popped popcorn watching the two caged animals. They were still going at it loud and proud...and even in her head, Emma knew that Hook would have a field day with that particular sentence if he'd heard it, but she didn't care. Hook was being handled. Again, Hook would have had a field day with that.

By now, Hook had managed to flip Rumpelstiltskin onto his back and had begun to punching him in the face over and over again, shouting "Your wife! The mother of your child! Only a monster could...only a monster!"

Meanwhile, Rumpelstiltskin was literally clawing at Hook's face, drawing blood, and shouting in a voice equally as heart wrenching, "You took her away from me. I lost her, I lost Bae...I lost everything because of you!"

Emma raised her eyebrows at hearing these words; maybe the reason for their fights wasn't as futile as she'd thought.

"I had nothing to do with it. I _freed _her from the prison that is _you_!"

"You're no saint, either, Hook. Don't pretend you came here for anything more than to torture me."

"Is it a crime to torture one who's tortured thousands of others?! Is it? Is it?!" Hook's face was growing more and more serious, his expression raging but agonized. His punches were becoming frantic and stronger and Emma swore that she saw a tear fall out of the corner of his eye. He was breaking. After 5 minutes of being with Rumple.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down!" Emma called worriedly, setting aside her bowl of popcorn and beginning to riffle through her vast collection of keys. The situation had escalated to a point she never thought possible in a time that had to make it a world record. Needless to say, the two had to be separated as soon as possible, else one of them lose a life. Emma had to get into the cell. Her pile of seemingly identical keys, however, delayed the process quite a lot.

Meanwhile, Hook had Rumple were still going fervently at it, both men bloody messes by now. Hook had forgotten his no weapon 'rule' and slashed Rumple in the chest and face with his hook before Emma finally found the key she was looking for. She all but ran the cell door and nearly dove on the two men, kicking Hook violently off Rumple. Hook grunted and spat blood at the ground. Lucky for Emma, he was foreign to the concepts of 'police brutality' and 'suing'.

She gave Rumplestiltskin a sympathetic glance (she never expected _that_ out of herself) and offered the beaten man a hand. He gave her a withering look, one that made her want to crawl into a hole and die, and pulled himself up on his own accord. In a malevolent and angry tone he told her that 'she would be hearing from him' before walking stiffly out of the jail. Emma's eyes followed his back as he left and she felt truly awful; he still had at least two hours before his magic came back to him and he could heal himself.

...But then Emma saw Hook's body on the floor, broken and crumpled like a rag doll, and she noted that he was shaking. He was not shaking out of fear or pain, but out of anger. Anger that he had let the crocodile get away from him, anger that he had not simply finished the job with one slash of his hook across the man's neck, that he had had to torture him and enjoy it before killing him. Most importantly, though, his anger was directed towards Emma. She was the woman who had waved his revenge right in front of his eyes, in fact she'd locked it in a cell with him, but she'd taken it away just as soon.

"What was that all about?" Emma asked hesitantly while she offered Hook her hand, just as she'd done with Rumplestiltskin. Unlike Rumple, however, Hook accepted the offer. He pulled himself up, expressly making it as hard for her as possible, before meeting her eyes with his.

"_That_ was about something foreign to you, Emma. Something you'll _never_ have. Love." he spat at her, the words venomous and angry as he spoke. The woman recoiled slightly, taking a step back from his form, but he just took a step forward, intent on maintaining his height advantage. Emma looked confused and slightly nervous, having been unaware that Hook might react like this. His eyes were wide and made him look crazed, unhinged. It did not make Emma feel reassured.

"Why are you-" she began, not wanting to express how strangely hurt she was by his behavior. He seemed to know what she was going to ask, and cut her off.

"You waved my life's meaning in front of my eyes, put it in my hands, and snatched it away just as soon. That's the world's _sickest_ tease." He said, baring his teeth like a rabid dog preparing for a fight. Emma, however, was not in the mood to get into a brawl with Hook. She's seen what he'd done to Gold.

"So you thought I was just going to let you kill him?!" Emma asked disbelievingly; she figured the pirate had at least a little bit of sense. "Unlike you, I have something called a _conscience._" Her words were growing heated, along with her cheeks. There was a light shade of pink blossoming in her face and she could feel the anger bubble up in the pit of her stomach.

Hook scoffed patronizingly at her comment. "If you really had a conscience, if you knew the whole story, then trust me, you _wouldn't_ be defending him."

"Then tell me the whole story! Tell me what happened, why he deserves to die." Emma shouted frustratedly. If he was going to be angry with her for interfering in matters she knew nothing about, she was going to be angry with him for letting her go on so ignorantly. However, unlike Emma had expected, Hook simply shook his head and tried to withdraw from the conversation. Emma's jaw dropped. He wasn't going to tell her?

"Is it some _secret_ or something?" she called after him as he left the sheriff's station, back towards her.

Hook looked back solemnly. The anger that had been in his eyes vanished completely. Instead his expression was laced with pain and regret. Emma knew the feelings well and recognized them instantly. Here was someone she could identify with. Here was someone who understood her and who she understood, even when words weren't spoken. In that moment, she didn't need to know what had happened between Hook and Rumple. She didn't need words to understand the story before her; it was evident on his face. Instantly, Emma realized another facet to Hook that she doubted anyone else had even seen. She saw beyond the cocky pirate, saw through the tough exterior to the hollow interior. With just one look, she attained a level of comprehension of Hook, and he her. There was a mutual acceptance between them, a respect that ran deep in both of them. As deep as the bruises their loves had left, as deep as their pain went. Instantly, everything changed and everything became simple.

Hook walked out of the sheriff station and, just as quickly, everything reverted back to the way it was before. They were two strangers, strangers that had both been hurt, strangers that connected on some deep level, but strangers nonetheless. On the surface, there was nothing. Inside, there was everything. But that was something neither she nor Hook noticed. Something neither she nor Hook were willing to admit.


	9. Winces and Winks

**Voila my new chapter! Someone pointed out to me that Hook had a broken/bruised rib in the comments and I realized that I edited out the part where I mentioned that in the fight scene (there was a lot of editing in that chapter) so sorry for that little plot hole. I'll try to rectify it in this chapter. Also, please remember that this is AU so Hook's ship was never turned invisible by Cora. Please read and review!**

Emma couldn't help but feel bad. Hook might have been annoying, and he might have deserved some form of punishment for his actions, but Emma hadn't had to lock him in a cell with Rumplestiltskin. She realized that now. Realized how cruel the plan had been. At first, she'd seen it as good fun, watching them banter and yell like toddlers. She'd never meant for it to get physical, never meant to let it escalate to the point it did. She had to admit that the confrontation had been intense and serious, and had she left the two alone in there one probably would have died. But, no matter how badly she wanted to take it back and undo her foolish actions, she couldn't. The only thing left to do was to apologize to Hook, no matter how badly it hurt or scarred her emotionally. In all truthfulness, she probably should have apologized to Rumple too, but she'd witnessed too much of his malevolence to allow herself to admit guilt in _his_ case. No, she would only apologize to Hook. And even just that was bound to be an awful experience.

This was why Emma found herself roaming the docks on a Sunday morning, searching for the ship Hook had saved her on that awful, stormy night. She held in her right hand an empty tupperware container that had once contained chocolate chip cookies (she'd gotten hungry) and held her left over her eyes so that she could squint into the sunny distance. At the very end of the dock she was able to make out boat about ten times the size of all the others, made of wood and with the tiny words _Jolly Roger_ inscribed on the side. Bull's eye.

The walk to the boat was a relatively short one, but to Emma it felt like a million years. For some inexplicable reason, she was afraid to go in, afraid to see him. There were needless worries flashing in her mind, making Emma second guess her decision. When she finally stood in front of the boat, she simply stared at it with a sense of wonder and fear. She let out a low whistle; it seemed so much more impressive when she was standing directly next to it instead of riding on it or seeing it in a beloved children's film, so much bigger and grander. She was almost excited to climb aboard, if she didn't know what, or rather who, awaited for her on deck.

Summoning her courage and swallowing her pride, Emma cleared her throat and climbed the stairs up to the deck, stepping over the rope that blocked her entrance. A slight breeze blew past her as she stepped onto the platform of the boat, a foreshadowing of sorts, and Emma second guessed herself. It would be all too easy to run back down the stairs and far away, to pretend like none of it had ever happened. How wonderful that would be! But Emma knew she had to face him, face the rogue and incredibly cocky pirate to tell him that she had been wrong in locking him in a jail cell with one of the world' most heinous villains (as if that that wasn't already a given!)

Emma took a second to look around the ship, and she was slightly disappointed by what she saw. She had hardly taken time to smell the roses and notice the ship that night when Hook had saved her, as she was just getting over a near death experience and it was black as...well, night. But now that she was there in broad daylight (and putting off making an absolute fool of herself), she figured she might as well learn a little something about the infamous captain Hook.

There was little to nothing on the main deck, aside from the steering wheel she's seen depicted thousands of times. Curiosity gets the best of her and she runs up the stairs to the second, higher platform which holds the wheel. She traced the outline of the wood with a single finger, shivering slightly. It was an eery feeling, somehow, handling the steering wheel of the Jolly Roger; a true pirate! She couldn't help the excited tingles that ran up and down her body and the girlish smile that escaped her lips. She let the feeling transpire a while longer, before forcing herself away from the wheel and back down onto the main ship. There was not much else there, no sign that there was any human being living there. Emma wondered briefly where Hook might sleep and eat, before a small door in the floor of the deck caught her eye.

She pulled with all her strength, expecting the door to be locked or booby-trapped somehow, but it gave way easily. All too easily... Emma looked down at the ladder that lead down, down, down to...something. And, of course, on the ladder was none other than the ruggedly handsome Killian Jones, wearing a knowing, if not entirely pleasant, smile.

"Miss me, love? Couldn't stay away?" he asked, careful to keep his smile on his lips. He lifted himself up and out of the secret latch so that he could stand eye-to-eye with Emma. She couldn't help but notice that he winced slightly as he did so, grabbing his side in pain. The rib must have still been hurting him.

"How did you know-" she started confusedly, pointing towards the latch door that was still hanging open. Hook chuckled darkly and told her (quite condescendingly), "You're not as stealthy as you might think, love." Emma made a mocking face in return, like a child, and Hook simply scoffed disgustedly and brushed by her. Obviously, he was still angry about what had happened at the station. That would make what Emma had to do so much harder...

Hook walked to the far side of the ship, lifting up the lid of the chest Emma had seen before, and took a glass bottle with a clear liquid inside of it. Emma had a strong suspicion that it was _not_ water, but rather vodka.

"It's eleven in the morning. Don't you think you should wait 'till a little later to be drinking that stuff?" Emma said uncertainly. Hook didn't even reply, just looked to her with an annoyed expression and took another deliberate swig, finishing with a bitter smile. Emma rolled her eyes; he could be such a child! But then Hook had to go and wince in pain again, trying to hide the fact that his rib was a burning agony from Emma, and, though she tried to stop it, a wave of pity cascaded through her.

"Whatever, you wanna die of liver disease at forty, be my guest." the blond said stubbornly; he was making it harder and harder to get this thing over with. Hook did not seemed please by her mini-threat (of course) and took another obnoxious gulp of the drink before walking proudly over to her. There was at least 200 square feet on the boat, but he had to stand just _inches _away from Emma.

"I'll do whatever I damn well like, woman," He told her quietly, his eyes narrowed. The alcohol on his breath made for an unwelcome smell; it seemed Hook had been at the drinking game even before his guest arrived. "And _you_ have no right to say any differently." He pointed towards her chest when he said _you (_making Emma ever so slightly uncomfortable, she couldn't help thinking that he'd done that on purpose) before taking one final gulp of the drink and walking back over to the other side of the ship to return it to its rightful place in his ever so cliched pirate chest.

After slamming it shut rather obnoxiously, he turned on his heels and walked back to Emma, though this time he kept an appropriate distance.

"Is there a _reason_ that you came here, or did you just decide you wanted to torment me some more?" he asked, tilting his head in mock curiosity. Emma rolled her eyes and ground her teeth. Now was the moment she was going to do it. Now was the moment she was _supposed _to do it, and yet she couldn't find the words. She looked at him there in front of her, waiting expectantly like he was a king and she his servant. He was annoying and selfish and apparently a _drunkard..._and she had to _apologize _to him. It was quite possibly the hardest thing she would ever have to do in her life, and she'd fought (and won against!) a dragon.

"I...came here because...I needed...to tell you something." she began. Her stomach was already doing back flips, though that was arguably because Hook was staring at her now with a rather hungry look in his eyes (maybe the vodka had sunk in a little?)

"And...what exactly is this thing that you needed to tell me?" he asked rather obviously, as though she were a silly child who had gotten distracted with the conversation. Emma did her best to suppress the glare that threatened to shot right out of her towards the man.

"I came here to tell you...that I'm..." she shivered slightly, telling herself that it was only the cold breeze on the deck, before deciding that she best rip the band aid off quickly... "I'm sorry about what I did in the police station and I know I shouldn't have locked you up with Rumpelstiltskin that was inconsiderate and stupid of me and I'm really sorry so please forgive me?" Emma said, all in one breath. She realized too that she had made her body stiff and closed her eyes, and now she peeked one open tentatively to glance at Hook's expression.

It was no longer angry or hungry, but instead _amused_.

"Oh, Emma. It's going to take a lot more than an apology for me to forgive you," he said, "but I think I can figure something out..."

Then, with a devious grin and a charming wink, he bid her farewell and climbed back down into the ship to leave Emma to her (terrified) thoughts. This time, he did not wince...


End file.
